How Social Media Affects SEO Results

The Future of Social Search in SEO Results

Most SEO experts are very skilled at optimizing website pages and blog posts using hyperlinks and anchor text. But just how knowledgeable are they when it comes to social media playing a part in search results? Social media has become a major piece of the overall SEO puzzle. Shares, likes, follows, and +1′s are all known to positively impact overall SEO results for a website and blog.

With both being so connected, it’s important to consider how social media impacts SEO results. With all the Google and Bing algorithm updates over the past year, things have really changed. Search engines have incorporated social content into their search results now more than ever. It’s important that marketers adjust their strategies to match the changing nature of search in order to positively affect SEO results in the long run.

Even with all the recent search algorithm updates we’ve seen take place recently, the social search playing field still hasn’t been completely defined yet. However, one of the key takeaways from the early actions of Google, Bing, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook is that as marketers, we need to synchronize our social media strategy and our SEO strategy. Below are some ways you can do this.

Make sure your social media and SEO tools are integrated.

Leverage a blog with built-in social sharing buttons for all blog posts, not just your main home page.

Create content that is shareable by people that are relevant to you so it has potential to appear across several social channels.

Update your company social media profiles with relevant keyword-rich content, but don’t go overboard with keywords.

Make your top keywords more social – zero in on several of your most desirable keywords and find creative ways to make content for those keywords more shareable across social outposts.

Find, get to know and nurture influencers who consistently share your content. Make a list of them. Knowing your influencers can help expand your reach online and ultimately increase the rate at which your content gets found and shared online.

Don’t forget Google+, especially with Google’s increasing use of Author Rank in its algorithm. It’s important to optimize your Google+ page and regularly share content on it. When the largest search engine in the world created Google+ and integrates its content into search results, you know it’s worth being a part of your overall social media/SEO strategy.

Social Media + SEO Live Happily Ever After

Even with the increasing role of social media in SEO results, the most important tip to remember is that you must create quality, relevant content for your target audience. Search has changed quite a bit in the last year with all these algorithm updates. But creating high quality content always remains the top priority.

If you’re creating useful content that is SEO friendly, it is more likely to be noticed and shared. The connection between social and search should be a natural extension through content that is relevant and can be trusted as authoritative. This drives both your social media and search marketing strategies to live happily ever after…